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November 30, 2007

Middle East News: World Press Roundup

The New York Times examines the changing attitudes towards Syria by the U.S. in light of Syrian attendance at Annapolis (1.) A Forward editorial draws hope for the future from the Annapolis meeting (3.) Reuters looks at the post-Annapolis challenges facing Palestinian president Abbas in terms of the question of Hamas (5.) The Guardian reports on frank statements by Israeli PM Olmert linking Israel's future survival with the two-state solution (8.) An Economist (UK) editorial is critical of President Bush for not offering more detail of his vision for a Palestinian state at Annapolis (9.) A Daily Star (Lebanon) opinion by Brandeis University visiting senior fellow and Palestinian economist Mohammed Samhouri stresses the importance of movement on the political front in facilitating Palestinian economic and development reform (11.) A Khaleej Times (UAE) opinion by Claude Salhani emphasizes the need for serious U.S. engagement and for both Israelis and Palestinians to compromise if Annapolis will result in success (12.) An Asharq Alawsat (pan Arab) opinion by editor-in-chief Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed argues that current peacemaking efforts hinge on President Bush (13.) A Haaretz (Israel) editorial draws a link between the Israeli settlement project and increasing parallels between Israel and South African apartheid (14.) In a Jerusalem Post (Israel) opinion, Israeli government minister Ami Ayalon sees the significance of Annapolis as being a critical juncture between the diminishing or strengthening of Hamas (16.)

In the end, the Annapolis peace conference proved to be far less than the cataclysmic, watershed event that its sharpest critics had predicted. It unfolded, to everyone’s surprise, with very little upheaval. And for that reason, it might yet turn out to be far more than the pointless flop anticipated by the world-weary wise men.

Israel's prime minister issued a rare warning yesterday that his nation risked being compared to apartheid-era South Africa if it failed to agree an independent state for the Palestinians. In an interview with the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz, Ehud Olmert said Israel was "finished" if it forced the Palestinians into a struggle for equal rights.

HISTORY will remember some days more so than others. Tuesday, November 27, 2007 will be one of those days. However, it may not be remembered in a way some hoped or expected. To be sure, there will be a lot of disappointment by the end of the day, for a variety of reasons, one being that too much expectation has been placed on this one day.

When Ehud Olmert warns that the world could impose a "South African solution" on Israel if two states are not created, side by side, he is tacitly admitting that expansion of the settlements is making Israel look increasingly like an apartheid regime.

When All Is Said And Done ATFP World Press Roundup Article
from Haaretz
by
Aluf Benn And Shmuel Rosner
-
(Analysis)
November 30, 2007 - 6:02pm

The genocide in Darfur is more horrifying, global warming is a greater cause for concern, and the danger that nuclear Pakistan will fall into the hands of Al Qaida causes more sleepless nights. And still, only the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can bring 50 leaders and foreign ministers from all over the world to a small American coastal town on a clear late-autumn day, in yet another effort to achieve "a final status agreement within a year."